


Forensics 101

by tamatiesouss



Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:20:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27148634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamatiesouss/pseuds/tamatiesouss
Summary: The world needs more Bones fan-fiction. I'm here to provide one for you.Violet Greene is a forensic toxicologist, newly employed at the Jeffersonian by Dr Camille Saroyan.It's the most amazing job she's ever had, but a diagnosis of ADHD and the fact that the resident shrink can see through her façade and right to her trauma is slightly disconcerting.
Relationships: Lance Sweets/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	1. Introductions

Violet tapped her fingers nervously on the dashboard of the car, and took a deep breath. 

'Listen, sweetheart, you're going to be fine,' her roommate and best friend, Isabella, said, 'Dr Saroyan wouldn't have hired you if she didn't think you were good,'

'Yeah, yeah, you're right. Of course you are,' she smiled, and stopped fidgeting around, just in time for Isabella's car to pull up in front of the Jeffersonian Institute. 

'We're here, Vi. Go get 'em, tiger,' 

'Thanks, Izzy,' Violet got out of the car and waved to Isabella once before she drove off, and then went into the building. She followed a security guard to the lab, where Dr Saroyan was waiting for her outside. 

'Ah, Dr Greene. It's good to see you got here on time, although, I must be honest, you look a lot younger than when we talked over the video conference,' 

'Yeah. I get told that a lot,' Violet laughed. 

'Okay. Uh, here's your access card, so that you can get up onto the lab's platform, and if you'll follow me, I'll introduce you to the team,' Dr Saroyan said, and led Violet into the lab. 

To say that the lad was amazing was an understatement. The lab had a glass ceiling that let in light that reflected off of almost every surface in the lab, giving it a polished, silvery-white look. The air smelt of alcohol-based disinfectant and metal, and the lack of rotting indicated that there were no fleshy corpses around at the moment. 

Dr Saroyan led her into a large office, filled with computer screens and all sorts of technology, with a group of scientists in blue lab coats were standing around a casually dressed woman near the largest computer screen. 

'... So, if I input the data that Brennan gave me about the fractures, I can run it through the system and see if they match any weapons we have here at the Jeffersonian,' said the casually dressed woman. 

A curly haired scientist next to the lady was very clearly upset about all of this, 'I don't see why you couldn't just let Fisher and I do our experiment!' he complained. 

'Because the last time you did an experiment, the lab was put under lock-down for two hours because you blew up your office, Dr Hodgins,' Dr Saroyan said, coming to a halt a few meters away from the group. 

'Oh, hey, Cam. That's what I told him,' the woman said, 'Who's this next to you?' 

'Uh, Ange, this is Dr Violet Greene. She's the forensic toxicologist I told you I was hiring,' 

'Dr Saroyan, I don't see why you had to hire a toxicologist. You normally do all that,' another woman spoke up. She was slightly taller than the first woman, with auburn hair and high cheekbones. 

'Because I need help around the lab, which I don't have, Dr Brennan,' Dr Saroyan said.

'She's so small!' another, younger-looking man said, shoving his hands in his pocket as he watched her face carefully, 'You said she was the best, right?' 

'I am the best. And you look like you need to show your ID at a bar, so I wouldn't have anything to say about that, if I were you,' Violet said, narrowing her eyes at him. 

'Ooh, burn!' the first woman said, 'You're definitely not wrong, by the way. I'm Angela Montenegro,' 

'Nice to meet you. You can call me Violet, or Vi, or whatever. I don't really care,' 

'If you think this version of her is nice, just wait till you see the other five personalities she has saved for special occasions,' the curly haired scientist said, 'I'm Hodgins by the way. King of the Lab,' 

'Hodgins isn't wrong. I do have multiple personalities. I change them depending on who I'm around, I suppose. I also want to kill him every time he points it out, though,' Angela said, nudging him in the ribs, 'And no one calls you King of the Lab except yourself,' 

'In anthropology, that's called code-switching. It's actually pretty common. Most people do it,' Violet pointed out. 

'Well done, Dr Greene. How did you know that?' Dr Brennan asked, smiling slightly. 

'Oh, um, I minored in Social Anthropology for a bit,' Violet said, looking down embarrassedly. 

'Alright, Dr Greene, I need you in the Autopsy Room in five minutes to help me with the Tox-screen for out latest victim, if you don't mind,' Dr Saroyan nodded, exiting the room and nodding to a large man entering. 

'Okay, Bones, we need to get going to check out the victim's home- Woah! Whose tiny child is this? She looks younger than Sweets, and that's saying something!' 

'Tiny child-' she started, but before she could get anywhere, Hodgins spoke up. 'That, my friend, is Dr Violet Greene, and it has been well established that we should not be making fun of her visible age,' 

'Wow, sorry. Anyway, Bones, we gotta go,' he said, grabbing Dr Brennan's hand and pulling her out of the office. 

Just then, Violet heard Dr Saroyan call her name. 'Oh, okay, um, I have to go too. It was nice meeting all of you!' she called out, hurrying out and towards the clearly marked Autopsy Room.


	2. Breakup

'Dude, love sucks. It is completely useless and we could all go without it,' Sweets said, rubbing his face tiredly as Violet walked into the lab.

'I know, man. But life sucks in general,' Colin Fisher, this week's intern said.

'Wow. I don't know what I just walked in on, but I wholeheartedly agree,' she said, stopping to stare at the two men.

'Oh. Dr Sweets has just broken up with Daisy again, whom he will have to see at work again next week, and Mr Fisher is expressing his general overview of life,' Dr Brennan said, looking up momentarily from the fractured ulna she had in front of her.

'Again? Wow, well done,' Violet said, swiping her access card and entering the platform.

'I resent that statement. Can I just not come in when she's here?' Sweets pleaded, looking up sadly at Dr Brennan.

'No, you cannot. We need you here, Sweets,' Dr Brennan said, 'Besides, I refuse to leave Miss Wick alone while she works, which means that she will have no opening to bother you while she is in the lab,'

'No offense, Dr Brennan, but you don't leave any of the interns alone while they work,' Fisher pointed out, passing her part of a shattered femur.

'Well, that's completely understandable, considering what happened to Dr Addy,' Sweets said.

'I would also like to point out that Dr Addy was not alone when the incident happened,' Dr Brennan said, giving Sweets a hard, angry look.

'Woah, woah, wait, what happened to this Dr Addy?' Violet said, her interest spiking now.

'That is not important at this time, Dr Greene,' Dr Brennan said, obviously irritated with the conversation.

'Hold up, I think she deserves to know,' Dr Hodgins said, coming up onto the platform with a file in hand, 'Zack joined forces with an evil, cannibalistic murderer known as Gormogon who specialized in in the ritualized killing of members of secret societies and then ate their flesh and added parts of their skeletons into a sacrificial pose known as the Widow's Son in his vault of stolen artifacts.'

'What?' Violet couldn't believe what she was hearing.

'I said-'

'No, I heard what you said,' Violet interrupted, 'Is this all true?' she asked, turning to Sweets.

'Oh, yeah. Agent Booth thought I was Gormogon at first. He almost arrested me,' he confirmed.

'That was because of your use of unneeded sarcasm in the situation, Dr Sweets,' Dr Brennan said, 'Dr Hodgins, I have a scraping from a compound fracture here for you. Please could you analyse it. Mr Fisher, go with him,'

'Good Lord, you all have problems don't you?' she said jokingly.

'Oh yes, definitely,' Sweets agreed.

********************************

With nothing left to do that day, Violet sat in the seating area on the balcony overlooking the lab, entirely engrossed in a daydream involving several floating spatulas and a talking cat.

A large crash snapped her out of her thoughts with a jolt, and she looked up worriedly.

'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,' Sweets said, picking up the metal vase he'd knocked off the table, 'Can I ask you a question?'

'Um, no?'

'Can I ask it anyway?'

'Fine. Before I change my mind,'

'Would you be okay coming in for a couple of psychological evaluations in the next few weeks?'

'I'm not crazy, you know,'

'The definition of crazy is very loose. But that's not the reason,' he started.

'I don't need to hear the reason as long as it's not that you think I'm crazy. I'll come in for the evaluations,'

'Woah, really?'

'Yeah, sure,'

'Everybody always complains about that. Thanks!'

********************************

Violet threw her keys on the table and flopped ungraciously onto the sofa before switching on the television and flicking through the channels to land on National Geographic.

'Woah, hey, sweetie, you look tired. You okay?' Izzy asked, sitting down in the armchair across from her.

'Yeah, I just found out today that one of Dr Brennan's previous interns was part of a series of cannibalistic murders,'

'Please tell me you're joking,' Izzy said worriedly.

'Nope. It all happened. I have over five eye-witnesses,'

'Wow. Don't do something like that, yeah?'

'Of course not. Dr Brennan would know it was me before I even finished committing the murder,'

'Probably,' Izzy laughed.


	3. Did You Know

Violet was supposed to be helping Dr Saroyan with something, but getting the Tox-screen results to Dr Brennan made her forget about whatever it was.

'Did you know that giraffes cannot swim?' intern of the week, Vincent Nigel-Murray said, looking up from the x-ray of their victim.

'Mr Nigel-Murray, I do not see how this pertains to the investigation,' Dr Brennan said sharply.

'I- I'm sorry, it's just, the fact that the victim drowned made me think of the fact,' he said.

'I still do not understand how you can make that sort of connection,' Dr Brennan argued.

'I can. I also jump from topic to topic like that sometimes,' Violet defended, handing Dr Brennan her notes, 'Toxicology tests came back negative. Sober as a nun,'

'Thank you, Dr Greene,' he smiled.

She smiled back, and saw Dr Brennan sigh in defeat from the corner of her eye. She stifled a giggle and exited the Bone Room, passing Dr Hodgins office to collect the victim's eyes, which she remembered as what Dr Saroyan wanted her to do.

'Did you know that scorpions glow under ultraviolet lights?' Violet said to Hodgins while extracting some fluid from the victim's eyeball.

'Yeah. I did. It's really pretty interesting. It's because of their exoskeleton, which is actually called a cuticle,'

'That's so cool!'

'What's got you spouting facts like that, anyway?'

'I don't know, I went to the Bone Room to give Dr B the toxicology results and Vincent just kind of opened some weird part of my brain that stores all the random facts I learnt over all the time I spent doing absolutely nothing constructive,'

'Oh man, I know what you mean. One time I caught Cam telling Ange random facts about penguins,'

'Glad to know it's not just me,' she laughed, passing the needle to Dr Saroyan as she came in.

'Yes, well, if either of you tell anyone about this, I'll be needing resignation forms within the minute,' Dr Saroyan said, placing the humor-filled needle onto a tray

******************************************

'I'm telling you, Vi, he's into you,' Izzy said, passing her a glass of wine.

'He's not. Just because I stood up for him does not in any way mean he or I are into each other,' Violet argued.

'Sure, Violet. If that makes you feel better,' Izzy said, 'Movie or documentary?'

'Movie. My life is a living documentary right now,'

'Good for you, but I intend for my life to be a crappy reality show. Maybe a soap opera, and I can't do that when you're boring ass life is so... boring,'

'Wonderful vocabulary, Bella. You're halfway there, anyway. We have the hot guys across the hallway for you to hook up with, now we just need the quirky stoner roommate who plays bad guitar,'

'Amen. Although maybe we can take out the stoner bit. I don't want this apartment to smell like pot. Especially since you work with the FBI now,'

'That's a very fair point. You can still utilize the guys across the hall though,'

'Oh, I definitely will,'

Just then, Violets phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Greg. She sighed and flipped the phone over, inspecting it's cover while it continued buzzing.

'Greg again?' Izzy asked. When Violet nodded, she stood up, 'Same procedure as always?'

'Nah. I'll just not answer it this time. Have to spice it up every now and then, you know?'

'Every time you answer his calls, it's a different kind of spicy,'

'I know. He'll probably try again tomorrow. I'll do the first bit we ever did again,'

'Oh yeah, that was a good one. You going into the Jeffersonian tomorrow, yeah?'

'Yeah. The school doesn't need me again till next week,'

Izzy suddenly giggled, 'You're probably going to give those poor scientists such a fright when you do it,'


	4. The Killer In The Crosshairs

When Violet went in the next morning, everything was in disarray. Caroline Julian, their defense lawyer, was off to the side, arguing loudly with Agent Booth about someone named Broadsky, and Dr Brennan was running panickedly from place to place, gathering equipment by the bucket-load.

She jogged up the stair to the platform, automatically swiping her card before coming to a halt in front of the corpse.

'Woah, what happened here? And why is there so much money in the body?' she asked, looking at the chewed up body with mild interest.

'Broadsky. Money launderer,' Dr Saroyan said, extracting a bullet from the back of the corpse's neck

'Who's Broadsky?' she asked, 'Is he the dead guy- who I'm assuming made fake money?'

'Oh, no, definitely not. This is Walter Crane. Supposed be a construction worker, born in Virginia, but it doesn't match the isotope ratios from his bone apatite,'

'I still don't know who Broadsky is, ma'am,'

'Oh, you weren't here when the Grave Digger got shot,'

'Grave Digger? As in Heather Taffet, the Grave Digger. Who killed nine-plus victims and buried Dr Brennan and Hodgins alive?'

'Yes, Dr Greene. She was scheduled for a second court appeal some time ago, but when she got to the court a sniper shot her in the head,'

'Indeed. Her head exploded,' Mr Nigel-Murray spoke up.

'Yes. Booth identified the sniper as Jacob Broadsky, who he used to work with as a sniper,'

'Oh, hey guys, what're you talking about?' Sweets asked, coming up to the platform, 'Booth needs the file on Mr Crane by the way,'

Violet almost spoke, but Dr Saroyan was faster, 'Just catching Dr Greene up on the case. The file is in Ange's office,' she said, pointing Sweets in the right direction

'Oh, thanks,' he said, smiling slightly as he walked off.

Violet looked at Dr Saroyan confusedly. Dr Saroyan returned the look for a moment before realizing what Violet was unaware about.

'Oh, that. Um, we don't bring up Heather Taffet around Sweets anymore. The feds stuck him in the vehicle with her on the day of the appeal. She said some pretty harsh things to him. He wouldn't tell anyone about it. He was also right next to her when she got shot. Got a face full of serial killer,' she said, her voice dropping to a whisper on the last sentence, watching Sweets talking to Angela in her office.

*****************************************************

Later, Violet and Sweets had stopped off at the diner to buy coffee for everyone, when they saw Angela and Hodgins arguing. Looking up, Angela saw the pair and called them over.

'Hey, Sweets, Violet. Could you guys come here quickly?'

'Sure,' Sweets said, pulling Violet with him to the table, as Angela shifted over for her.

'I actually have a question for you,' Angela said, sliding her plate to Violet so that she could take some fries.

'Oh, great. Shoot. Probably not a term I should use during a murder investigation, huh?' he joked

'Right. Anyway, Angela's father-' Hodgins started, and Sweets' face fell considerably.

'Oh, God. What? Are you gonna ask me some interpersonal family question?' he groaned.

'Is that so strange? You are a shrink.' Hodgins pointed out, and Violet restrained a laugh, 'He wants to name our baby. We're not supposed to have any input. Now, that is weird, right?' he asked.

Sweets sighed, 'Um... Well, you know, it's-it's complicated, of course, as all family issues are. I... No, I'd rather not shoot from the hip on this one. Perhaps some research and reflection...' he stumbled over the words, visibly uncomfortable with the topic.

'Oh, you are avoiding this,' Angela said, forcing eye contact with the poor shrink.

'No. No, I'd just be remiss if I didn't consult my books, you know? I have so many books,' he said,

'You are afraid of him,' she exclaimed.

'Am I...? Yes, I'm afraid,' Sweets admitted, finally breaking eye-contact.

'He is a very sweet man,' she argued, pouting slightly.

'He kidnapped Hodgins, and gave him a tattoo while he was unconscious, Angela,' Sweets said and Violet just barely managed to cover her laugh with a cough.

'Yeah, but he-he loves that tattoo now. Don't you, babe?' Angela asked, looking for reaffirmation.

'I don't... I have a lot of work to do,' Hodgins said, practically running out the door to avoid the situation.

'I'm gonna get takeout or something,' Sweets said nodding, also excusing himself

'You are running away,' Angela yelled after the retreating scientist.

'I'm walking,' he called back, and Violet couldn't contain her laughter anymore

'What are you laughing for?' Angela pouted sadly, 'All my friends have emotionally abandoned me,' she sighed

**********************************************

'Please tell me that this meat is not human,' Angela asked disgustedly.

'No, it's venison. We found it frozen in the suicide victim's cabin freezer,' Dr Brennan cleared, pointing to a small freezer being wheeled in by a couple of technicians.

'I'm confused. Are we investigating a murder, or preparing lunch for the Palin family?' Angela asked, starting to go back to her office

'Booth believes Broadsky was practicing,' she sighed, 'Decomposition suggests that this deer was killed approximately 48 hours ago.'

'Oh, and the deer was killed with a shotgun. Notice the metal fragments scattered throughout the flesh,' Vincent pointed out, indicating to various shattered silvery fragments embedded in the last of the deer's hide.

Violet waited silently off to the side, but it seemed like she wouldn't be needed here anymore that night.

'Snipers don't tend to use shotguns, Mr. Nigel-Murray,' Dr Brennan disagreed, shaking her head.

'What weapon, aside from a shotgun, fired at very close range, could cause this type of fragmentation?'

'Finding the answer starts with asking the correct question. You just asked the correct question,' Dr Brennan half-congratulated him, starting to leave the room.

'I'll map and remove the fragments, take them to Hodgins, see what the, uh, physical makeup can tell us,' Vincent called after her, and then sighed. Violet chuckled from the side before picking up her stuff to leave.

'I don't think you're going to need me up here again.' she said, leaving the platform.

'Wait, where are you going?' Vincent asked.

'Either to the Founding Fathers, or to commit a felony. I'll decide on the way,' she called, leaving Vincent alone on the platform.

**************************************

When Booth and Brennan came into the Founding Fathers later that night, Booth looked upset.

'Did you get him?' Hodgins asked, while the pair sat down.

Booth shook his head angrily, 'No. Nicked his shoulder, but it'll heal,'

'He won't be able to go to a hospital to have the bullet removed, so his shoulder will be impaired for quite a while. At least a few months. Probably longer,' Dr Brennan said, 'He probably won't make as good shots during that time,'

'I don't know, Bones, he's the best,' Booth disagreed, waving over the bartender.

'Why don't we just focus on the fact that you stopped Broadsky from claiming another victim,' Sweets said, and Violet looked down at her drink, grateful that Sweets was there to help Booth calm down.

'Yeah, sweetie. You might not have killed him today, but you'll probably get another chance,' Angela nodded, looking reassuringly to Hodgins, who nodded fervently to express agreement.


	5. ... How Can I Help You?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this probably isn't all that accurate, medication-dosage-wise, but I tried

When Violet went into work the next morning, she was beyond tired. She had meant to spend half an hour cleaning her room last night before going to sleep, but ended up spending the entire night researching theoretical physics.

And then she heard the high-pitched, energetic talking coming from Dr Hodgins' office, and internally started crying.

'Morning, Dr Greene. I have some stuff for you to test this morning. We have what looks like a double murder here, but Dr Brennan thinks they might have just been smoking the good stuff,' Dr Saroyan said, calling Violet into her office, 'Not with those exact words, but she wants a tox-screen done soon. It was two boys, DNA tests came back and they're twins. Booth's checking out the place where they work part time now,'

'Yes ma'am,' Violet said, going over to the flesh of the corpses lying on two separate autopsy tables.

She took a deep breath and looked over the dissected bodies. There was a vial of blood for each person, and one liver was mostly intact, but the other one was in tatters, too small to run a test from. The second one's eyes were intact, so she could run a test with the liquid inside. She'd done it before, but it was extremely difficult, because one wrong move, and the eye would collapse and mess everywhere.

'I'm going to need to you check with Hodgins if any insects on the bodies were dead when they were found, You'll need to test them too,'

Violet pulled off her gloves and trudged over to Hodgins' office, internally bracing herself for the bubbly voice inside. Chances are, it would be Daisy, Sweets' ex, who Angela had warned her about a few days ago.

'Hodgins,' she called into the office, waiting by the door. His head popped out from behind a couple of plant and she continued, 'Any dead bugs?'

'What kind of question is that? Come in and see for yourself,' he said.

She pulled a face and entered, following Hodgins to the back of his office, where a small female intern was waiting.

Hodgins pointed to a pile of insects lying in a jar on his desk, 'Those came from the first victim's small intestine. All dead,' then he pointed to a second jar, 'Those were from the second victim. Chest cavity. Also all dead,'

'That's kind of odd, isn't it?' the intern spoke up, 'I mean, bugs don't just die like that, do they?'

Hodgins sighed, 'No, Daisy, they don't. That's why I'm here. To see why they're dead,'

'Actually, that's my job. Poisons, drugs, you know,' Violet said.

'Hey, these are my bugs! Besides, we don't even know of it was poison that killed them,'

'And we're not going to know if you don't let me do my job. I could always call Dr Saroyan to sort this out, but since she sent me here, I don't think it would go in your favor,'

Then Daisy spoke up again, 'Oh, today's not really going in your favor today, is it Dr Hodgins. First with the tarantulas and then-'

'Alright, Daisy, we get it. Doesn't Dr Brennan need you to go polish a bone or something?' Hodgins snapped, 'Go find some anthropology to do instead of messing with my botany,' he shooed her out of the room, while Violet watched intriguedly.

'If you really need to test the bugs, do it in here. None of them leave this lab, got it?' Hodgins said, turning to Violet.

She nodded her understanding and started pulling on a second pair of gloves.

**********************************************

'Hodgins, I've got something,' Violet yelled out, looking at the results for the tests.

'What is it?' he said, coming over quickly.

She twisted the computer screen for him to see, 'There is a huge amount of Adderall in their systems. The half-life of Adderall is ten hours. How long did you say they were dead again?'

'Roughly 20 to 25 hours,' he supplied, still looking at the screen.

Violet did the math in her head quickly, 'That was one hell of an overdose. Much larger than a normal prescription size. They'd have been dead in minutes. The tox-screen for their liver, vitreous-humor and brain came back negative. They weren't high or drunk when this happened. There's no way this was an accident,'

'Whoever did this had access to a lot of medication. I'll get that to Sweets and Booth before they go out looking for whatever they normally do,' he said, jogging out of his office while Violet stared sadly at the computer screen.

**************************************************

'Man, I can't believe their mother did it,' Angela exclaimed that evening as the group sat around the table in the balcony area, 'And just because she claimed she couldn't deal with their issues,'

'Well, as a pharmacist, she had access to all the medication. She told them it would help with their concentration and overdosed,' Sweets explained, 'Often, parents struggle under the pressure of trying to bring up neuro-divergent children, and in this case, the teens had ADHD. It all comes down to how they react to it. She reacted badly,'

'Man, I know how that feels,' Violet muttered, looking sadly at the long sleeves covering her arms.

'Huh?' Angela said, looking at Violet.

'Oh, nothing,' she lied, and her phone started ringing.

Greg. Again. She sighed, and looked at her phone.

'What's wrong, honey?' Angela asked.

'My ex. He's calling again,'

'You gonna ignore it?' she asked

'Nah, I've got a procedure,'

Angela raised her eyebrows, looking interested. Violet cleared her throat before answering the call.

'Good evening, Kingston and Sons' Morgue, you stab 'em we slab 'em, how can I help you,' she said, making her voice high pitched and nasally. She saw Angela cover her mouth to stop from laughing, and she winked outrageously.

Greg started firing questions at her, 'Hang on, lemme check if we have someone here,' she said. She put the call on hold and counted to fifteen before picking up again, 'No, hun, nobody here by that name... Uh huh... I'm sure... I think ya have the wrong number, love. Alright... buh-bye,' and she hung up with a click.

'What was that?' Angela laughed, and everyone else looked slightly confused.

'My procedure. I thought I said. Every time he calls, I have different way of answering. He'll leave me alone for a month or two and then call again, and I'll say something else,'

'Well, that certainly is an interesting way to deal with an annoying ex,' Dr Saroyan said, 'I wouldn't deal with it like that, but if it works for you...'

'How does he not figure it out? I mean it's got to have been some time since you broke up with him,' Sweets asked, leaning forward.

'It's been two years. And Greg isn't the sharpest tool in the shed,' she explained, putting her phone back in her pocket.

'That must be an understatement, if it's been two years,' Booth joked, leaning back in his seat.

'No kidding,'


	6. Don't be a Stranger

'I don't see why I have to come with,' Violet complained, dragging her feet as Sweets walked quickly ahead of her, 'I'm a forensic toxicologist, not a shrink,'

'You've also got a doctorate in Social Anthropology, yes? Dr Brennan suggested to Cam that you should work on those skills sometimes too,' he explained, looking back to her.

'I don't see why... Dr Saroyan could have given me some other way to do that instead of making me deal with what she described as "a group of sociopathic weirdos",'

'We're merely going to look into the daily lives of a suburban neighborhood. See if any of them have the temperament for murder,'

'If I'm correct, didn't you do a case like this a year or two ago with the windmill, the gay couple and the cheating wives? Suburban hierarchies often create the right kind of temperament for homicidal tendencies,'

'You don't strike me as the kind of person who'd read old case files. But yes, we did solve that case,'

'I got bored. Old case files are like murder mystery novels. I honestly didn't expect the gay couple to be part of it. My money was on the 18-year-old's father,'

'Mine was too at first. He wasn't lying about not knowing about his daughter's affair though, so that didn't work,' he stopped at a door and knocked, 'Why didn't you suspect the gay couple though? Poisoning a dog with laxatives is a pretty good motivation for murder,'

'I don't know. I've just had good interactions with the community. So has my ex-girlfriend,' she said, without realizing her wording, 'Oh, hey, never mind,' she said, seeing Sweets' sudden shock

'No, not never mind. You're gay?'

'Bisexual,' she muttered, knocking on the door again, but more violently than Sweets. A woman opened the door, 'Oh, look, someone's here! Let's continue this discussion later,' she said, pointing at the woman.

'Morning, ma'am. FBI. We were wondering if-' Sweets was cut of when the woman slammed the door in his face, 'We'll just come back with a warrant,' he yelled, before turning away from the house and going back in the direction of the car, 'That's the fourth house today,' he muttered

'What a shame. Let's send Agent Booth next time. They probably won't slam the door in his face,' Violet joked

'No kidding,' Sweets said, 'Bisexual?'

'Yeah, fine. I'm bi. It's not a big deal,'

'You're right, but it's still something you mention,'

'Yeah, well, lets see, a lab full of straight people who's opinions on gay people I don't know. Seems like a good motive to keep it for myself for the time being,'

'Well, Angela's also bisexual,' Sweets pointed out

'I'm trying to make a point. Stop shutting them down,' she joked, 'That's good to know, though,'

'Mhm. You going to tell anyone else?'

'Maybe,'

***

'Man, this is the windmill incident all over again,' Booth sighed, when Sweets and Violet reported back to him and Dr Brennan.

'That's what Vi said,' Sweets agreed, putting his hands in his pockets.

'She wasn't here for that one,' Dr Brennan said, looking at the victim's incomplete case file.

'I read the file,' Violet reminded her, 'You saw me,'

'Ah, yes, now I remember. What are we going to do about the street if they won't open up?' she asked

'Get a warrant and bust down their doors. If they don't want to play nice, neither will I. Who's the main suspect at this point?'

'Melissa Glow. Victim's wife,' Sweets said

'Look at that. Even has a gay couple again,' Booth said, 'That area's a very conservative place isn't it? They'd have trouble fitting in,'

'Maybe, although perhaps the neighborhood sort of accepted them- you know, token gay couple so that they don't look bad in front of work associates and the like,' Sweets theorized.

'Never liked it when people do that,' Violet said, 'I need to get back to the lab. Dr Saroyan found traces of alcohol in the victim's system. She needs me to check it out,' she excused herself, leaving the three to discuss their next move.

***

When she got to the lab, an intern she didn't recognise was there. He was a good looking guy with silvery blond hair and a square-ish face. He was talking to Angela amicably and Violet felt her stomach do a flip when he glanced at her as she came up to the pair.

'Hey, Ange, do you know where Dr Saroyan is?' she asked, trying to keep her face neutral as she could feel the intern analyze her.

'Sorry, sweetie, I haven't seen her,'

'She's in Dr Hodgins' lab,' the intern offered helpfully.

'Thanks... I- I don't know your name, sorry,' she apologized, looking down embarrassedly.

'Wendall,' he said.

'Thanks, Wendall!' she said, before turning to jog in the direction of Hodgins' office, which she could now hear an argument coming from.

'Dr Hodgins! You will not conduct another experiment! Not after the exploding turkey,' she heard Dr Saroyan yell.

'Oh, come on! That one was funny and we all know it. Besides, no one actually got hurt,' Hodgins argued fervently.

'No! Angela can virtually model what happened and figure out from there. Now, I suggest you get those figures to her so that she can do her thing and get this over with!'

'Fine,'

Dr Saroyan came out of his office, and Violet quickly intercepted her.

'You needed me to do a blood alcohol test, ma'am?' she said quickly

'Yes. It's in the autopsy room. It still needs to be prepped. The liver was fully intact and there should still be enough blood in it. I need results as soon as possible,'

'Yes ma'am,' Violet said, veering away from the angry scientist and towards the corpse, clearly visible from where she was.

***

Late that night, Violet still hadn't figured out what the alcohol was. It had an alcohol content congruent with the average for wine, but it definitely wasn't that. There was no trace of fermented fruit.

She sighed and leaned her chin on her crossed arms. Wendall came in, and almost had a fright when Violet lifted her head at his footsteps

'Geez! Do you know how late it is?' he asked, sitting down in front of her.

She looked at her watch and groaned, 'Oh, Izzy's going to kill me! She won't come fetch me this late and I don't have any money for a cab,' she lamented.

'Do you want me to drive you to your place?'

'Please,' she said simply.

'Come on, let's go,' he said, and she stood up and followed him down to his car.

He opened the door for her and she gratefully slid into the passenger's seat, her feet sore from the day's movement.

'Where's your place?' he asked, starting the car

She gave him directions sleepily and he drove her there.

'Thank you so much,' she yawned as he pulled up in front of her building.

'No problem,'

She got out of the car and faced Wendall, who'd walked over to stand in front of her.

'Um, I was wondering, maybe you wanted to go out sometime?' he asked nervously, his cheeks tinted pink

Violet wanted to laugh at how cute he looked, but it seemed a little rude. She also desperately wanted to say yes to a date, but she was still hurting from Sarah.

'I- I don't know. I've just been dumped,' she sighed, and his face dropped, 'How about I give you my number and we go from there?' she offered instead.

'That would be nice,' he smiled.

Violet laughed, pulling out a pen from her pocket and scribbling her number on his arm.

'Call me sometime,'


	7. The Bet

'He asked you out? How cute is he?' Izzy said. She had taken it upon herself to interrogate Violet every time someone asked her out.

'What cuteness scale are we using?'

'David Tennant to Jensen Ackles,'

'Okay, um, Zooey Deschanel,' she estimated, 'But male, light hair,'

'Ooh, okay. You have my permission,'

'Since when do I need permission?'

'Since Sarah,' Izzy said, and Violet felt a pang in her heart. She'd sort of lied to Wendall about how long ago she'd been dumped, and she felt bad, but that spark of pain was the exact reason.

'You're not going to go out with him yet?' Izzy guessed. Violet nodded and Izzy punched her in the arm hard, 'Come on, Vi-vi! It's been almost a year since she moved to Russia. You need to get over her,'

'I asked you not to call me that. And I can't. I almost did and then she was on the news last month for some stupid dance award and I haven't slept since,'

'Listen, I know it's unfair that she left you for some other Russian dancing partner and moved away for him, but you can't let this guy- what's his name?'

'Wendall,'

'You can't let Wendall suffer for it. Go out on one date with him. Just see how it goes. Maybe you won't come home crying like you did with Bobby,'

'I don't think anyone can match up to Bobby. Not even Greg,'

'Oh, no, baby, Greg was definitely better than Bobby. Greg had the decency to let you order what you wanted. So you'll call him?'

'Of course, Izzy,'

***

When Violet got to the school the next morning, she hoped she got the nicer classes that day. Teaching both Biology and English, however, meant that she'd probably get a double dose of the more rowdy ones.

She entered her first class and lit up. All her favourite students in one room.

'Morning class,' she said brightly.

She was about halfway through the day when things started going wrong. She was taking a Biology class with one of the higher grades, and they were discussing human anatomy.

She wished she could say she didn't see it coming, but she did. The girl had looked uncomfortable when Violet had announced the topic, and Violet had seen her get more and more worried as the discussion moved down the body and closer to the genitalia.

Violet had dismissed and ignored this, until finally the poor girl had started crying. The class immediately started mocking her for being a baby, and Violet had to scream at them to get them to stop.

She got the girl to the nurse's as fast as possible, and she calmed down slightly, but she was still crying after ten minutes.

'Where's the school counselor?' Violet asked the nurse as she sat with her arm wrapped around the girl.

'She's still on sabbatical. Won't be back till next month,' the nurse said, shaking her head and leaving the room.

Violet impulsively called the first number she thought of, hoping it wasn't a bad time.

'Sweets, I need your help,' she said when he picked up.

'Where are you?'

***

When Sweets rushed into the school ten minutes later, he wasn't expecting a crying sixteen year old girl to be the source of Violet's panic.

'What's up?' he asked, watching Violet untangle herself from the sobbing child.

'She just started having a panic attack, and the school counselor isn't here,' Violet rushed, 'You're the only other psychologist I know. Her parents are waiting in admin but she won't leave here and they want her to talk to someone,'

'And you want me to talk to her. What caused the outburst?'

'Not sure. We were discussing human anatomy, and she's normally mature enough to handle that kind of thing,'

'Alright. Can you give us some space?' he asked, kneeling down in front of the girl.

Violet obliged, stepping out of earshot, only hearing him introduce himself.

He spent half an hour talking to the girl glancing over at Violet periodically as she gnawed on her nails until one of her cuticles was bleeding. Finally the girl broke out into a shy smile, and Sweets helped her stand up. He nodded to Violet, who called the nurse back in to escort the girl to her parents.

Just after the girl left, Mr Hofstadter, the principle, came in.

'Thank you so much, Violet,' he whispered to her as Sweets came over, 'You too,' he said to him, 'I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't called you,'

'It's really no problem,' Sweets said.

'Miss Greene, you can take the rest of the day off. You probably need to mark your classes' essays, anyway,' Mr Hofstadter granted, before slipping out the room.

'Do you need me to drive you back to your place?' Sweets asked as they walked out of the nurse's office.

'Hang on,' Violet slipped into an empty classroom and grabbed a pile of papers off the desk before joining Sweets again, 'Sure, please. I took the train in but some company would be nice,'

***  
'What happened with the girl?' Violet asked, 'I mean, why did she-'

'Have a panic attack?' Sweets finished, 'I don't know if you should-'

'I need to be able to help her if it happens again, Sweets,' Violet argued

'Fine. She's transgender, and she's still a little worried about her new identity,' he explained.

'So she panicked when we brought up puberty because it reminded her of what she was going through. She's new here so I didn't think about that,' Violet mused, 'You look tired,' she noticed as Sweets unlocked his car.

'Dr Brennan and Agent Booth had another fight today. I had to cancel two other hour long appointments to mediate,'

'Damn. Sexual tension? Or plain miscommunication?'

'Tension.'

'One day, the pressure's gonna build up too much and they're going to snap and just go at it,' Violet predicted.

'I don't think so. Booth's just broken up with someone. He won't get into a relationship with Dr Brennan now,'

'How much do you want to bet on that?' she challenged cheekily.


	8. Fright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: abuse mention, (very little) blood

Violet stared at the victim’s liver, ‘How am I supposed to get something from that?’ she exclaimed, ‘I think at this point I’d get a better answer from the bones than this,’

‘You know Dr Brennan won’t let you do that,’ Dr Saroyan said, ‘and before you ask, Dr Hodgins won’t let you touch his bugs either. Not after you “brutally turned them into a maggot milkshake”, as he put it,’  
‘He does that all the time. He’s being hypocritical,’ Violet asked.

‘I can’t get him to give you the bugs this time, Dr Greene, but I will try in the future. For now, just see what you can get from the liver,’ Dr Saroyan sighed, before leaving the room.

But Violet couldn’t get anything from the liver, and was on her way to her second breakdown of the week. It was only Tuesday. About half an hour into her half-breakdown, she heard a loud crash reverberate through the lab, and she yelped and instinctively ducked under the table, transported back to her darkened childhood room for a moment.

She leaned her head against a table leg for a moment and forced herself to run through the breathing exercises a former therapist had taught her. In through the nose, hold, breathe out slowly through the mouth, whispering “I’m fine. He can’t hurt me,’ to herself. She did this a few times, not noticing Sweets watching her. He knocked on the doorframe and she flinched.

‘Sorry, sorry, it’s just me. Are you okay?’ he asked.

She nodded and came out from under the table, but remained sitting on the floor. She leaned one hand on the floor, but yelped when she cut her thumb on a piece of glass. That’s when she noticed the two broken petri dishes next to her. She swore to herself and quickly started picking up the pieces.

Sweets leaned down and stopped her, ‘Hey, you’re bleeding. Don’t worry about the glass,’

‘No, no. I don’t want to get into trouble,’ she shook her head, picking up the shards faster.

‘You’re not going it get into trouble,’ 

‘Yes, I am. It’s my fault they broke,’ she cried. A stray tear streaked down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, accidentally smudging her deep red blood on her cheek. She hated crying in front of other people.

‘It’s not. Let’s get your cut sorted out at the nurse’s office and then we can explain to Dr Saroyan what happened, okay?’ he suggested.

‘Just pass me my bag,’ she deflected, pointing to a satchel near the door.

He handed it to her. She pulled out a tissue and pressed it to her skin, and dug through her bag for bandages and disinfectant. When she was sure the cut had stopped bleeding she quickly pressed a disinfectant soaked cotton swab to the cut, ignoring the sharp sting. She quickly wrapped it with a bandage before packing everything away again. She wiped the blood off her cheek quietly, not looking at Sweets the entire time.

She finished picking up the glass and threw the shards away when Dr Saroyan came in.

‘Woah, what happened here?’ she asked, seeing Sweets look worriedly at Violet, ‘I just came to say Hodgin’s experiment determined cause of death,’

‘Nothing. Hodgin’s experiment just gave me fright. I couldn’t get anything from the liver,’ Violet muttered

Dr Saroyan nodded, and then saw Violet’s thumb, ‘And your hand? It wasn’t bandaged when you came in,’

‘Just a cut. I’ve had worse,’ she half-explained. Sweets glared at her, ‘I accidentally broke two petri dishes,’ she finished nervously.

‘It’s fine, Dr Greene. I’ll speak to Dr Hodgins about warning everyone about his experiments next time, okay?’ she said, and turned and left the room

Violet let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the floor again.

‘It gave you a fright?’ Sweets looked at her in disbelief .

‘Yeah? Your point?’

‘That’s a bullshit excuse,’

‘That’s a model way to approach the situation,’

‘You thought something bad was going to happen to you,’

‘Maybe,’

‘Does it, by any chance, have anything to do with your scars, which we actually never got to discuss,’

‘Yes. Well done for figuring out two plus two equals four,’ she said sarcastically

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

‘My father beat me. Every day from the age of fourteen to eighteen, with anything he could find. His belt, wooden spoons, knives,' she picked at a raised scar on the back of her left hand, 'beer bottles,’ she said, ‘I did go to therapy for it,’

‘And your mother? Did she just not care or-’

‘She’s dead,’ Violet said flatly, not making eye contact.

‘Oh. I’m so sor-’

‘I’ve heard that platitude a thousand times. I’d prefer it if I don’t have to hear it again,’ she said softly.

Sweets nodded and sat down next to her, ‘We can discuss this more in our next evaluation, perhaps,’

Violet nodded her head once, suddenly feeling very tired, ‘I think that’s a good idea,’ she murmured.


	9. ADHD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This probably isn't entirely accurate, but I tried so...

‘And you’re sure you’ve had no other panic attacks like this?’

‘Not since last year, no,’

Sweets looked upset about all this. Despite Violet telling him she was fine, he kept calling her for evaluations more and more frequently. According to him, if she were fine, she wouldn’t have had a panic attack.

‘Any mental breakdowns?’

‘Actually, yes. I suppose I sort of was having one when it started,’

‘Okay, okay,’ he was flipping through her medical records now, ‘What was the worst panic attack you’ve ever had?’

‘Page 10-ish,’ she said, indicating to the file, ‘Hit my father over the head with a frying pan,’

‘And he didn’t retaliate?’

‘He tried to charge me with assault,’

‘That’s- that’s not-’ Sweets looked a little shocked

‘Yeah, I know. I was sixteen. Court dropped charges. Something about “temporary insanity due to the unorthodox nature of the panic attack” or something. Stuck me in a loony bin for six months and let it go,’

‘How did no one figure out he was abusing you?’

‘I was too scared to tell anyone. Everyone at the mental hospital chalked the scars up to self-harm,’

‘Not even a therapist?’

‘They didn’t give me one. Apparently a mental hospital is just fine,’ she said, ‘Figures,’ she added on, half to herself.

Sweets ignored that last part, ‘When did someone find out?’

‘Well, just for some backstory, I was in university when I was sixteen- I skipped two grades, but I took the classes separately from everyone else- I worked through the coursework at twice the speed of everyone. My aunt was a professor there and she got them to let me work alone. By the time I was eighteen and a half I had a masters in linguistics and physiology- that's how I got my job as a substitute teacher at the school,’

‘You’re getting off track, Violet,’ Sweets murmured, scribbling something down.

‘Oh. Sorry. Anyway, after I had my masters in those two, I got bored, and since I was eighteen, I decided I might as well join the other students in proper classes. I moved out of the house with my dad to stay on campus. I got stuck with Izzy and she saw my scars. She got me to tell her about them and then reported my dad to the police,’ she took a deep breath, suddenly realising she hadn’t taken a breath in between the story, ‘Suddenly everyone was a lot more understanding, and less condescending about my depression,’

‘I’ve noticed people do that,’ Sweets said, ‘And nobody diagnosed you with anything?’

‘When I finally did go to therapy, I was just told it was chronic anxiety and depression from PTSD,’

That seemed to make Sweets even more irritated.

‘Where’s the therapist now?’ he said, getting up and leaving his office, barely waiting for Violet to follow.

She sighed, struggling to remember, ‘I can’t remember now,’

‘Give me a name then,’

‘Uhhh… Dr. Hadley Osborn,’ she said.

‘Mhmm. Come with me quickly,’ he said, standing up and exiting his office with a few quick steps.

*******************************************

It took Sweets exactly 7 minutes and 35 seconds to find out where Dr Osborn’s office was. It then took him 12 minutes, 23 seconds to drive them there, and another 4 minutes, 56 seconds to get her assistant to get her to speak with them.

‘Dr Osborn, I’m here regarding some conflict with a mutual patient’s diagnosis,’ Sweets said by way of introduction.

‘And you are?’ she asked brusquely, her southern heritage very prominent in her accent. Dr Osborn was almost exactly as Violet remembered: a heavy set woman, her blonde hair now slightly greying, her eyes slightly squinted, even with glasses. 

‘Dr Lance Sweets.’

‘Ah. I’ve heard of you. You’re mighty young to have two doctorates, aren’t you?’

‘I suppose so, yes. But that’s not why I’m here,’

‘Yes, yes, conflicting diagnoses. Who’s the patient?’

Violet stepped out from behind Sweets, ‘Hi, Dr Osborn. It’s me, Violet Greene,’ she said nervously.

‘I remember you. What’s wrong with my diagnosis?’ Dr Osborn nodded

‘It’s not PTSD. Well, it is but, it’s not only that,’ Sweets started

‘Please explain. That was just confusing,’

‘If we take the trauma out of the equation and just look at the symptoms, what do you see?’

‘You’re still being cryptic, Dr Sweets,’ Dr Osborne warned.

‘In Violet’s file, various reports from her highschool teacher describe her as having “an unusually high intellect, but unable to pay attention for more than a few minutes. Often makes careless mistakes yet is overall often the smartest in the class”,’ he started, ‘So, high intelligence, inattentiveness, here it says “often fidgets or cannot sit still; constantly moving”, so hyperactivity, and lastly, I’ve noted various instances of impatience during certain cases. Add that all together, what do we get?’ he asked.

‘Well, I’d say ADHD,’ Dr Osborn said

‘Exactly. She has ADHD,’ Sweets confirmed

‘What-’ Violet started, but before she could speak, Dr Osborn started talking again

‘I cannot believe I missed that!’ she exclaimed

‘The PTSD masked most of the symptoms. Psychology isn’t always an exact science,’ Sweets said.

‘Don’t let Dr B hear you say that,’ Violet whispered jokingly, nudging Sweets in the ribs gently.

Dr Osborn sighed and nodded, ‘I concur with you assessment, Dr Sweets, I’m so sorry I missed that, though,’

Sweets nodded, ‘We have to get back to the Jeffersonian. Dr Saroyan won’t like it if you’re late again, Vi,’ he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the door

‘Thanks for seeing us, Dr Osborn!’ she yelled, before shutting the door behind her.

***************************************

‘So I have ADHD?’ she asked, when they got back to the FBI buildings

‘Yes,’ Sweets nodded. He wrote something down on an official looking piece of paper, ‘I think this’ll work for your prescription, but I must warn you, the side-effects-’

‘Of most ADHD medications aren’t good, I know,’ she said, ‘Toxicologist, remember?’ she gestured to her lab-coat.

Sweets smiled at her and she couldn’t help but grin back

‘Thanks, Sweets,’ she said simply. She looked at her watch and almost jumped out of her skin, ‘Shit! I’m going to be late,’ she exclaimed, standing up abruptly.


	10. Spiders aren't Insects

Violet stood up and ran her fingers through her short brown hair. The Jeffersonian didn’t need her for this case- there was nothing for her to do, the remains being entirely decomposed. The school only called her in every two weeks, so this week was a week off from teaching loud-mouthed, annoying kids. 

In the past few weeks, she’d been contemplating quitting her job as a substitute teacher. Teaching wasn’t exactly something she wanted to do. It had started when one of her other friends had told her there was a job opening at the school she taught at. Violet had just finished her Ph.D in Toxicology, and was extremely desperate for work, to pay off her student debt loans. Nothing says love like your entire family (save one aunt) from completely cutting you off for turning your abusive father in to the local law enforcement. Now she was regretting taking that job. 

She’d somehow managed to pay off her loans, and now, teaching a class full of tiny sociopaths was becoming very taxing towards her mental health. Besides, her job at the Jeffersonian paid fairly well, and the only big-ish responsibilities she had right now were paying rent and affording her medication.

She sat down at her desk and opened up her laptop to draft her two week notice/ resignation letter, and then stood up again. She paced around the room for a few minutes, opening and closing doors and drawers at random, not entirely sure what she was looking for. She grabbed the first book in her favourite fantasy series and skimmed through the first few pages before tossing the book onto her bed and sitting down in front of her laptop again, satisfied that she could probably focus now.

Dear Principal Hofstadter, she started

Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from my position as-

She paused, tapping her fingers impatiently on the edge of her desk. What was her position at the school anyway? She slammed her hands down hard onto her desk, and then promptly deleted the entire letter.

She heard her phone buzz twice, and then a knock on the door. It was her Aunt Marinova, or as Violet had nicknamed her, Aunt Nova. 

She let Aunt Nova in, startled slightly by her sudden visit.

‘Good morning love,’ Aunt Nova greeted her, ‘How are you doing?’

Violet helped her carry the three large bags to the living room, and then went to make some tea as her aunt sat down, telling her all about her job at the Jeffersonian.

‘And do you still have that nasty job at that school?’ Aunt Nova asked, wrinkling her nose in clear disgust.

‘Yes. But I’m going to quit this week,’ 

‘Good for you, child,’

Violet passed the steaming tea cup to her aunt, and she took an experimental sip.

‘Ah! I see you’re using that rooibos tea I brought you from South Africa,’ Aunt Nova said, nodding approvingly.

‘Of course. It helps me calm down. Especially since I was diagnosed,’ 

‘With the ADHD,’ her aunt finished, ‘You know, hearing that you have ADHD, a lot of things make sense. You were always such an odd child. You used to bounce around like a little squirrel, asking questions way above your age,’

‘What kind of questions?’ Violet asked curiously.

‘One time, when you were three, you asked your mom what a nucleus was. You could barely pronounce the word. She had to tell you it was the centre of an atom, and then you asked her what an atom was. Your father had to step in and tell you that it was a very small particle,’ Aunt Nova laughed.

Violet smiled wistfully. If only things were still like that, she thought.

Her aunt looked up at her sadly, as if she’d read Violet’s mind, ‘I know things aren’t good now, but there’s always time for it to get better. Your job is good, it sounds like the friends you’ve made there are fun, and you finally know what’s been making you feel incomplete all these years. I think that something big, something amazing, is going to come your way very soon. You just need to be ready to grab it by the horns and go with it, alright?’

Violet smiled again, this time happier, and she was glad she had Aunt Nova. 

‘Ooh, before I forget, I brought you and Isabella some things again,’ her aunt said excitedly, picking up one of her three bags.

***************************

When Violet went into work the day after, she could barely see over the top of the two huge tupperwares she was carrying.

‘What on earth is going on here?’ Sweets asked, failing to muffle a laugh.

Violet blew a strand of hair out of her eyes exasperatedly, ‘My aunt visited. Can you help me, please?’

Sweets chuckled and took the top tupperware, and Violet let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

Angela came up in front of the pair, ‘So which one is the bearer of gifts, and which one is the help?’ 

Violet rose onto her tiptoes unconsciously, before dropping down again, “My aunt visited. She said I must split these between the team,’

‘Alright, leave them in my office for now,’ Angela allowed, “I know Booth won’t say no to free snacks. Neither will Hodgins,’

Violet set the tupperware down, and something around her neck glinted in the light.

'Ooh, I like your necklace, honey. Your aunt get you that too?' Angela complimented.

Violet touched the pendant around her neck. It was a black widow spider, the body onyx, with the hourglass marking made from a ruby, 'Yeah. She travels a lot. I'm not even sure where she went this time, but she said it reminded her of me because spiders are my favourite insect,' she laughed wryly, 'I had to remind her that spiders are arachnids, not insects,'

Sweets grinned at her, 'Your aunt seems to care about you a lot,'

'Yeah. I'm glad I have her,' Violet admitted, a small smile gracing her lips.


End file.
